John A. Williams: Case Fifteen

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Home Page About the Archive Introduction Enter Exhibit About John A. Williams link to register Credits
Home Page Archive introduction enter exhibit About John A. Williams Papers credits

Browse the Exhibit Cases:
Note: Case 21 contains audio and video clips.
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Case Fifteen

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!CLICK SONG (1982)

This, I believe, is my best novel to date. I did everything I wished to do in this book in terms of manipulating time, creating structure, making historical journeys and corrections, and removing the concept of publishing from quiet, dark offices to glitz and bottom-line business. I also believe the statement I wanted to make about black American artists and their lives came through loud and clear. Most of the reviews were good, but it did not get a paperback sale until 1987 when Thunder's Mouth Press reissued it.
scanned typescript

!CLICK SONG. Original typescript, with author's corrections and additions. Uncollated sheets.
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scanned bookjacket for !click song

!CLICK SONG. Boston: Houghton Mifflin (1982). First edition, proof copy.

Houghton Mifflin's promotional flyer for !Click Song.
scanned bookjacket for !click song

!CLICK SONG. Boston: Houghton Mifflin (1982). First edition, in dust jacket. Signed by Williams.
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scanned award

American Book Award, 1983. Presented to Williams by the Before Columbus Foundation for "excellence in Literature."
scanned poster
Advertisement for Williams's speech on 24 February (1983?) as a part of the Paul Robeson Scholar Project at Livingston College, Rutgers University.
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scanned poster
Advertisement for Williams's speech on 25 March (1983?) as a part of the Hall of Fame Celebrity Series at Bronx Community College.
scanned bookjacket for !click song

!CLICK SONG. New York: Thunder's Mouth Press (1987). First paperback reprint edition.
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LAST FLIGHT FROM AMBO BER (1983)

Last Flight from Ambo Ber is what I call "a telling play," because it covers more time than Aristotle says it should, has more characters, and has more to do with race and politics than with fate.
scanned typescript

LAST FLIGHT FROM AMBO BER. Acting Script (offset from typescript).
scanned theater program

LAST FLIGHT FROM AMBO BER. Program of production presented by People's Theater, in Cambridge, Mass., for the Theatre in Process series of new plays. November 1981.
scanned bookjacket for last flight from ambo ber

LAST FLIGHT FROM AMBO BER. Pelham, N.Y.: American Association for Ethiopian Jews (1983). First edition. Original wrappers.
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THE BERHAMA ACCOUNT (1985)

Like Mothersill and the Foxes, this novel was supposed to be funny, funnier than Mothersill. Curiously, editors said this wasn't a "John Williams novel." I think this meant that I was supposed to produce heavy stuff all the time. In desperation, I used a pen name, Gian Viggiani (the protagonist is Italian). But, then everyone was saying, "Aw, this is a first novel, and who the hell is Viggiani anyway." This is a political novel about public relations hustlers on a Caribbean island - a situation I am not unfamiliar with. Finally, a small publisher did the book, which was not widely reviewed. I don't think the production of the book helped us; it is very badly done. I still think that The Berhama Account is a funny book waiting for something good to happen to it.
scanned bookjacket for the berhama account
THE BERHAMA ACCOUNT. Far Hills, N.J.: New Horizon Press (1985). First edition, in dust jacket.
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